A Wandering, Wondering Jew: An Open Lonely Landscape...

is how I would describe today's hike from La Sage to Grimentz.

With a forecast calling for 100% clouds, but thankfully no rain, I headed out. It was hypothermia chilly, yet I only wore a lightweight fleece shirt and shorts. With another daily dose of ascent (4,200 feet) I knew I'd be toasty in minutes and meters. Not much later, a cold sweat descended down my back and brow. No fuss breaks today, I would have started shivering.

The views were long. The light was flat and subdued. From my aerie I heard the melodic chiming of cow bells. Those four-legged musicians were mere black dots from my vantage point.

Along the way, I noticed a Barley the Van sized chunk of limestone rock. (ancient seabed). An indication of the cataclysmic forces at work in the Alps. All this from the African tectonic plate steamrolling into the Eurasian one. Uplifting happens.

I passed three fellows with backpacks. They said Hello's in hushed tones. No one started a conversation. It was a day for turning inward.

At Col de Torrents, I unslung my back, donned a jacket and took my first break. Bananas and nectarines were gobbled down. I was getting cold and needed to move. After a quick photo session I headed down to aquamarine colored Moiry Reservoir. The source of all that pretty water sat up upstream-Moiry Glacier.

At a display on the Dam, I saw these photos. I couldn't understand the explanation, but the pictures told the story. In one person's lifetime the Glacier had receded a lot more than an arm's length. I suppose the notion of climate change is just like plate tectonics, both are fake science.